Aside from some really magnificent cocktails available, a young hip crowd and a warm atmosphere,
Every Thursday night they have been hosting a pop-up of the popular "space age" Taco truck El Grito Taqueria. After securing a rare table in the small Robin Room we went to the backroom/window to order some tacos.
Obviously I gotta get one of each right? Each week this menu changes, mores the pity!
That's taco man #1(Josh), one of the co-owners of El Grito Taqueria, back there assembling our tacos!
Here is an $8 plate of unabashed taco. The tortillas used are pretty small (Miramar?), but packed full of ridiculously amazing ingredients.
The beef brisket had been braised down into a luscious pile of shredded, yet still tender and juicy beef. The flavor was deep and purely beefy, more reminiscent of beef cheek then beef brisket. Believe me that's a huge compliment, beef cheek is one of the tastiest parts of the whole animal. It was simply dressed with fresh onions and cilantro, a classic presentation of a taco.
This was a roasted sweet potato with an orange glaze, crema, crunchy sweet potato chips, and cilantro... This was very well balanced, and it shows the creativity and devotion to the senses that we find the the best cuisine. The flavors all meshed well, the crunchiness of the chips could have been played up a little bit more with larger chips, but all-over it's a win. Especially for a carnivore like myself.
Remember those other tacos I was gushing about? The ridiculous brisket/meticulous sweet potato? Yeah... fuck those tacos. The Duck Carnitas taco dumbfounded everyone at the table. It was just a moment of silence, everyone rocked back on their heels with a potent shot of animal fat coursing straight into their veins. We immediately needed to buy three more Duck Carnitas tacos. They were the taco version of chasing the dragon.
The duck must have been cooked confit, shredded in it's own fat and piled high on these suddenly far too small tortillas. A cucumber/green onion salsa added some acidity to cut through the fattiness of the duck. Hoisin(a traditional Chinese pairing with duck) added sweetness and a bit more acidity further cutting the fattiness of the duck. But the crowning debauchery was a little pile of pork cracklings on top for a crunchy flair.
El Grito Taqueria
Brisket Taco
Tortilla - 4 Filling - 5 - Toppings - 3 Appearance - 3 Total - 15/20
Sweet Potato Taco
Tortilla - 4 Filling - 4 - Toppings - 4 Appearance - 4 Total - 16/20
Duck Carnitas Taco
Tortilla - 4 Filling - 5 - Toppings - 5 Appearance - 4 Total - 18/20
These were all really amazing tacos! Best in Madison so far.
-TACOTALK!
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